ReCharge!: Boost your resilience in a crazy, post-pandemic world

By Tim Farish and Matthew Gregory

One of the biggest challenges we face as individuals is how we manage our energy.

Too many of us limp into the weekend in a state of exhaustion and relief. And if we put a young family into the equation, then that relief doesn't last long. The pace of working life has been increasing for some time and since the advent of social media - and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recharge Publishing
• Release date: May 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781838343712

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Tim Farish and Matthew Gregory. All rights reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Strenuous attempts have been made to credit all copyrighted materials used in this book. All such materials and trademarks, which are referenced in this book, are the full property of their respective copyright owners. Every effort has been made to obtain copyright permission for material quoted in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.

Book design by: Steve Kelly (MFS) www.ikelly.co.uk

Cover image & Typesetting by: SWATT Books Ltd www.swatt-books.co.uk

Printed in the United Kingdom

First Printing, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-8383437-0-5 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-8383437-1-2 (eBook)

Recharge! Publishing

Bartons Byre, Worcester Road

Hagley, Stourbridge

West Midlands DY9 0PR

www.rechargeability.com

INTRODUCTION

Why Recharge?

One of the biggest challenges we face as individuals is how we manage our energy.

Too many of us limp into the weekend in a state of exhaustion and relief. And if we put family demands into the equation, then that relief doesn’t last long. The pace of working life has been increasing for some time and we have lost since the advent of social media – and with it, the always-on culture of 24/7 availability – the protection that pre-digital boundaries offered.

Now, with the onset of homeworking due to Covid-19, the boundaries between work and home life have become even more blurred. The simple fact is that exhaustion and stress have become an epidemic that companies cannot ignore. And the cost does not just stop with organizations. If our energy reserves are low, we are seriously reduced in our capacity to love and be present at home, so our family life suffers too. The two are inseparable.

The last few years have seen an increase in the demands and drains on resilience in the workplace, yet corporate wellbeing programmes are often woefully inadequate in addressing the problem, as it is so deep and pervasive. It’s not that the help offered is wrong – far from it – it’s just that it often is not holistic enough to address the challenge properly. And that challenge is very clear.

There is an energy deficit which leads to exhaustion, burnout and depression. In other words, too many of us are running on empty for too long. And our numbers are growing frighteningly quickly.

The simple fact is that exhaustion and stress have become an epidemic that companies cannot ignore.

Too many of us are running on empty for too long. And our numbers are growing frighteningly quickly.

This book has been designed to help with this problem. While relatively simple in design, the RECHARGE! model is designed to be a potent and holistic personal development tool in its own right, as well as providing a powerful approach to looking after yourself and recharging your batteries.

A lot of thinking about building resilience is defensive – how do I react when I’m on my knees or coping with a tragic, often unexpected, event? The RECHARGE! model can certainly help here – we know it from our own personal experience. However, resilience is not only about just dealing with extremes - we believe it is about having a consistent strategy of looking after yourself on a day-to-day basis. The RECHARGE! model is one that is based on flourishing; it is proactive and preventative as well as defensive and reactive.

We have used a battery metaphor because our mobile phones, which run on batteries, get depleted by use, and if we don’t recharge them overnight, we start getting low battery alerts. If we ignore them, an impressively powerful bit of kit stops functioning altogether. Humans are like that too. If you keep taking and don’t recharge, you will get plenty of warning signs, and if you ignore them, your quality of functioning will diminish and eventually stop! Sound dramatic? Check out the story of António Horta-Osório, Group Chief Executive, Lloyds Banking Group¹ who ended up spending nine days in the Priory clinic, dosed up on sleeping pills and resting 16 hours a day to stave off total nervous breakdown. He didn’t recharge and paid a high price for this.

Thankfully, looking after ourselves has become more acceptable - particularly with the challenges we’ve all had to face through the pandemic - and we hope our approach can give you the skills and confidence to flourish.

The RECHARGE! model is one that is based on flourishing; it is proactive and preventative.

If you keep taking and don’t recharge you will get plenty of warning signs.

Sadly, many people, faced by the overwhelming pressures of life, are more concerned about recharging their smartphone each night than recharging themselves. And it shows! We all carry a level of resilience charge, and when you meet people, you instinctively get a sense of their charge levels. We are generally not drawn to people who are running on empty. Recharging, as well as being concerned with our sense of wellbeing, also affects how vibrant and influential we are.

You will most likely already have some recharge practices, or else you wouldn’t be reading this book. But our experience of working with thousands of leaders and professionals is that you will benefit from strengthening these practices – for all the reasons mentioned earlier.

This book, based on comprehensive research, will show you how. In fact, EVERY part of the RECHARGE! Model is present because of solid evidence that backs up how it can support both your flourishing and replenish your resilience charge. We cite our research throughout as well as supporting it with stories and examples.

Furthermore, we have both lived and experienced this model through considerable personal challenges - including tragedy - and it has helped us flourish and maintain balance through the most brutal situations that life can throw at you.

With this in mind, the content in this book has been put together in a sequential order of sections which build on each other. However, the order presented might not correspond to the area of recharging you actually need to focus on first. So, be guided by our diagnostic.

By taking our RECHARGE! test before you start, you can see for yourself where best to focus.

Scan the code to take our recharge diagnostic test now

So be guided by our diagnostic… if you’re exhausted and not sleeping properly… get on with that.

By taking our RECHARGE! test before you start, you can see for yourself where best to focus your attention in the areas which most need it first. If you’re exhausted and not sleeping properly, for instance, then it’s best to get on with that before you start to build your charge in other parts of the model.

So feel free to start where you need to, and trust that you can come back to the other areas when you are ready. Being a holistic model – all areas are connected in some way – trust that with improvements in one area, you will also be making a positive impact in others.

At the end of the book, we’ve also added a section for people that lead teams – How Leaders Can Build the Resilience of Their Teams – to round everything off.

The principles in this book are even more essential now that we live in a world where the illusion of certainty, particularly in material things, is something we would be wise to accept. Economies come and go, as does our wealth and the world order, yet human, universal truths don’t. And truth #1 is that we need to look inside ourselves a little more than we thought, to maximize our life energy.

Wiser heads

Reviews for ReCharge!

[Rick Salmon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Life has a way of throwing storms at us. And keeping balance when juggling family, work and happiness isn't easy. I guess I've learned that while I cannot control the storm, I can control how I react. This book offers a great structure and some valuable advice on how to weather life's storms. Recommended.